Downward Spiral
by AlterryCrimson
Summary: Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. As Sonic and company are about to find out, they're in for a long and painful, physically and emotionally, descent into rock-bottom...
1. Chapter 1

Downward Spiral: Ch. 1

Downward Spiral: A depressive state that suddenly takes place, heavily impacting a victim and those around, though it previously seems as if nothing can go wrong. It will lead to decline; accumulating increasingly negative effects, sometimes for reasons unknown. It is called a "Downward Spiral" because there is no way for a victim or victims to stop and prevent further damage; it only leads to worse and worse though the victims themselves will be in denial about their current state. The only hope for the victim(s) is that they hit rock bottom, and possibly slowly resurrect themselves back to normal. However, it is extremely unlikely, given the lingering, lasting, and fatal emotional effects a "Downward Spiral" will leave…

Slowly, as a distant, blue-green planet rotated around its respective place in the universe, the glowing rays of the sun skimmed the surface, bringing radiance and warmth to the landscape and the inhabitants of this world. Another day had slowly begun to start; another chance to forget the past and accept the bright future ahead. As the outstretched fingers of the sun glided across the exterior at an increasing rate, slowly enveloping the planet in a world of light, dawn was just starting and the night fading away as the moon disappeared without a trace, giving way to the brilliant sunshine. Light; a symbol of peace, and things to hope for, had descended and lit up the sky above. Even in this miniscule area in the universe, abundance flourished and tranquility reigned. Nothing could have gone better as of now, but little did the inhabitants of this world know that the future had plenty of trials and tribulations in store for them however…

"Yeeeaah!" All of a sudden, a blue dash of light zoomed through a meadow of vivid crimson tulips and rosy white and golden daisies, skidding to a stop as the momentum from the wind around whooshed past the being, causing the flowers bow to its will until it slowly died away.

Sonic raised his arms to the sky and tilted his head back lazily as he inhaled the fresh scent of the blossoming flowers; the breeze at his back and the beaming sun up ahead in the azure sky as he closed his eyes and smiled in content. He was free! Finally free!

A few weeks ago, he and his band of loyal friends had conquered the depths of evil and darkness; facing all odds to finally vanquish his arch nemesis; Eggman. Since then, as all the festivities had faded away, they had all gone their separate ways, now that there was no more evil to be reckoned with, and lived in peace. Of course, occasionally, Sonic couldn't resist the urge to drop by to visit his adopted brother, Tails and watch him tinker with his machines alongside Cosmo. Or the blue hedgehog would always stop by Angel Island every once in a while to chat with, or rather poke fun at, Knuckles, who had been faithfully guarding the six chaos emeralds, even though everyone tried to convince the stubborn echidna that there was no one left to take them. But in the end, they let him be, if that made him happy…

Sonic still couldn't believe the last of his fears and disturbing thoughts in the back of his mind had been completely erased, however. Sometimes, he even wished Eggman were back so that he could taste the thrill of another adventure. He dreamt that the mad scientist would finally reveal his fat face one day, claiming to take over Mobius with another new and crazy scheme of his. Then, of course, after a long and epic battle, he, Sonic, would always win in the end, finally defeating Eggman time and time again, proclaiming his daring will and valiant heroicness to the relieved citizens of Mobius City as they chanted his name and glorified him to the heavens. In a way, Sonic and his enemy, Eggman, had completed each other in the past; Sonic needed Eggman to show off his heroism and to defeat him while Eggman needed Sonic to, well, be Eggman and gain recognition as a threat to be reckoned with.

Sonic was just as content with Eggman being gone however; he had come to terms with himself, and finally understood that fighting and heroism wasn't everything. After battling the crazed scientist for so long, he finally deserved a break and a bright future ahead without any worrying about evil.

Speaking about future, as Sonic happily frolicked around the meadow, the intoxicating smell of the wafting flowers making him feel young at heart again, he suddenly started to think about Amy. Back when Eggman was a common household name, he tried to stay as far away from Amy as possible, though he wasn't sure why now that he thought about it. He knew he had developed an interest in her as the years passed, even though it didn't seem like it…

Sonic always had wanted to be free; and he was scared that being in a relationship would only tie him down and prove to Amy that he was scared of commitment. He didn't really find the pink hedgehog scary or too controlling, even though he ran away from her on first sight. Rather, he justified the reason he had done those things was because he just didn't want Eggman to think he had an interest in her, and use that to his advantage to hurt Sonic.

And now that Eggman was gone, Sonic still kept his old habits and ran away from the pink hedgehog. Even yesterday, as she was chasing him, he had even gone as far as to declare her as an oppressor and that no one he knew would ever want to be with her. Of course, she had cried about that, and Sonic had managed to escape, although he felt terrible about it, even now. Maybe he would make it up to her by giving her some flowers…

Sonic reached around and picked out the most colorful and fragrant flowers he could find, bundling them up into a beautiful bouquet. Today was a new day, and it was time to make things right…

Firstly however, he had promised Tails and Cosmo that he would drop by and visit them today, so as the blue hedgehog took one last glance around the picture-perfect meadow and clear blue skies, he dashed off in the direction of the seashore towards the couple's house, flowers gripped tightly in one hand…

"There, that should about do it!" Tails exclaimed as he lifted a heavy, welded socket and pushed it into place, grunting under the weight. "And we're finished! For now at least…" The yellow fox stood back to admire his work, wiping his brow with the back of his oily, tar-covered hands, catching some on his crooked bangs on accident. The kitsune was where he usually was most of the time; in his workshop. The other half of his time was spent with his love on the seashore by their house, playing in the gentle waves and romantically admiring each sunset together in the sand.

As Tails stepped back and glanced with his eagle-sharp eyes over the faultless exterior of his plane, which he had been working on ever since his cousin Raymond had arrived on Mobius, he victoriously smiled, and nodded appreciatively, a feeling of accomplishment and self-satisfaction building on the inside. It was finally completed; a super jet plane that possessed speeds which even rivaled Sonic, the self-proclaimed "fastest thing alive". Maybe Tails would nickname his newest creation "the fastest thing, alive or not" just to poke fun at his adopted brother.

Too bad it already had a name though, Tails thought with a twinge of regret. As the fox slowly walked along the temporary platform he had been using to work on the jet, he reached out and touched the surface of his plane, lightly trailing his fingers over the green and white streaks of freshly-applied paint that ran down the tail…

"Cosmo", he whispered under his breath, reciting the name of the jet and his loved one. An interesting name to name a machine undoubtedly, though perhaps he had named the jet after her to signify his love for mechanics as well as his alien plant girlfriend. She would definitely love it at any rate, Tails thought with a trace of a blush appearing around his muzzle, smiling warmly. He had just turned around to head inside when no one else but his adoration emerged from the house into the workshop, sweetly calling his name.

"Tails! I thought I would find you here," Cosmo cheerfully exclaimed, teasing her boyfriend as he hopped down from the platform as made his way over to her. "I made tea in case you wanted it." She indicated towards the tray she was holding, which contained a quaint arrangement of cookies and two cups, a pitcher of steaming tea in the middle.

"Hehe, thanks Cosmo, you're the best." Tails affectionately thanked her and gratefully accepted a cookie, both of them taking a seat in the workshop on a wooden bench as they placed the tray in between each other.

"Is that what you've been working on?" Cosmo pointed at the green and white jet as Tails vigorously nodded between bites. "It looks great! As usual…" Cosmo complemented, fondly smirking at the kitsune.

"Only 'cuz I had a wonderful girlfriend to help encourage me," Tails complemented in return as he lovingly gazed into the azure eyes of Cosmo, every bit thankful he had her with him.

"Aw, you're too sweet," Cosmo adoringly replied as she gently placed one hand upon Tails' soft muzzle, tenderly stroking it with her fingers. "I didn't really do anything; it was all you. Take credit where you deserve it." She kindly answered, calmly smiling at the blushing kitsune who warmly smiled back in return.

"You mean everything to me, Cosmo," Tails sincerely replied, affectionately taking Cosmo's other hand in his. "With you, I feel as if accomplish anything…"

"Aww…" Cosmo felt so much love and compassion towards the fox, whom she loved so much. Hearing him say kind words and tell her how much she meant to him every minute of her life made her feel so special. Not a moment went by between their relationship where Tails didn't express his unbounded and overflowing love towards her by loving words and kind actions. Because of that, and the fact that she too loved Tails with all her heart, Cosmo felt entirely lucky to have Tails with her…

DING DONG! The doorbell rang, signaling an unexpected visit from someone. As the high-pitched noise started the two of them into reality, temporarily breaking the trance of love, Tails smiled and got up.

"Don't worry," He said to Cosmo tenderly. "I'll get it. And thanks for the treat; you really are the best." And with that, he headed inside to the front door as Cosmo patiently awaited his return. As he ambled inside, his shoes treading over the heavily carpeted floor without a sound, Tails reached the door, and pulled on the handle as it swung inside.

Light filtered in through the small rectangle of open space as the chirping of birds and a waft of a cool breeze floated into the dim house. In the middle of the front porch stood Sonic the hedgehog, who was in the process of rearranging a bouquet of flowers in his hand as he had been waiting for Tails to open the front door. Tails on the other hand leaned out of the door and peered to the left at the beach and seashore, then to the right at the grassy fields and wooded forests, before finally turning his attention to the blue hedgehog.

"Hello, Sonic!" Tails cheerfully greeted, readily accepting his adopted brother's company. "What brings you here?"

Sonic, upon noticing Tails had opened the door, grinned back and waved. "Hey, little buddy! Thought I'd just drop by and spend some time with my most favorite brother ever!"

"You mean your only brother," Tails teased, then willingly welcomed Sonic to enter inside. "How are you by the way?" The young fox asked innocently, wondering how Sonic was faring these days.

Tails got his answer when Sonic grinned and flashed a thumbs up. "Never better!" Sonic cheerfully exclaimed with a smile, entering Tails' and Cosmo's house. "Now that Egghead's gone, there's not a care in the world for me!"

"Yeah…" Tails nodded, silently agreeing. Ever since Eggman had been defeated, life had been awfully quiet and peaceful, though he wasn't complaining since it meant spending more time with Cosmo. Shutting the door behind as Sonic came into the cozy abode, Tails started to think about his future, or rather, his and Cosmo's together without Eggman or any other threat of evil. Life seemed extremely bright; the dawn of a new beginning only just starting…

"You look like you have a lot on your mind, Tails," Sonic pointed out as he noticed Tails gazing into space longingly, temporarily forgetting about the blue hedgehog. "Something wrong?" He asked in concern, frowning.

However, Tails shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, and then smiled. "Nah, I'm alright," He stated, putting Sonic's thoughts at ease again. "It's just, I can't fully comprehend there's no more worrying about Eggman anymore, after we've been fighting him for so long-"

"I know how you feel," Sonic agreed, still in a trance-like state about his enemy. Sometimes, he wondered if Eggman would come back with Metal Raymond, even stronger and more powerful than ever. The scientist wasn't one to give up easily, and Sonic started to grow worried. What had he been up to over the past few weeks? Had he really given up, or was he simply waiting; plotting?

"I doubt Eggman's coming back," Tails suddenly stated as Sonic was interrupted from his thoughts. "I mean, what can he do? We've completely destroyed his base almost a month ago, and there was nothing left of it…" The fox stated as if he was reading Sonic's mind, recalling the distant memories of that fateful night. Sonic on the other hand shrugged a reply.

"Well, at any rate," Sonic tried to change the subject. He made a mental note that he would meet up with the mayor later today to discuss what Eggman was up to. But for now, it was a new day after all; a time to forget the past. "How have you two been doing?" He asked kindly, wondering how things were going with Tails and Cosmo.

Tails smiled warmly as he led Sonic into the living room, where Cosmo was waiting with her cookies and tea. "We've been doing great, thanks!" He replied optimistically as Sonic seated himself upon one of the sofas and gratefully accepted a cup of tea, muttering a heartfelt "thank you" to Cosmo. "What's with the flowers anyways?" Tails pointed at the bouquet Sonic was gripping tightly, wondering what the blue hedgehog's intentions were.

"Oh, this?" Sonic casually asked, pointing towards the flowers as his mind raced to come up with a smart reply. "Er, I was going to… um…" He stuttered for a little while as Tails grew suspicious, arching one eyebrow in amusement. "..I was going to give it to… uh.. C-Cream! Because she likes flowers, right?" Sonic managed a half-hearted grin, trying to hide the flowers behind his back.

"Aw, that's sweet of you," Cosmo said, smiling. "I'm sure she'd love it!"

"Thanks," Sonic appreciatively said, thankful that they hadn't caught on. It was too early for anyone to know anyways; he wanted to take this one step at a time. "Well, I better be going anyways, sorry!" He apologized hastily as he stood up from his seat, despite the fact that he had just arrived less than a minute ago.

"It's alright!" Tails reassured Sonic as they all stood up and Sonic made ready to leave from his brief visit. "Take care! And don't hesitate to drop by if you ever want to!" He called out as Sonic waved and sped out the front door again. As the blue hedgehog made his hurried departure, Cosmo spoke up: "I never knew Sonic would get all nervous over a simple question…" She noticed, concerned that something might be bothering the hero.

Tails chuckled as he came to a conclusion. "Yeah, I guess. But you know Sonic; can't ever stay in one spot for long…"

Sonic bolted from the house as he immediately made for the grassy fields again, turning his back to the dreaded ocean and sunny seashores. However, the reason for Sonic's sudden departure wasn't because he thought the two of them might catch onto his romantic interest; it was because he had completely forgotten that he had something important to inform Knuckles about. Just earlier this morning, while on his lengthy runs around the planet, Sonic had come into contact with a strange aura of chaos power. Unfortunately, by the time Sonic had noticed it and skidded to a stop, he guessed he was probably miles and miles away from the source at the rate of speed he had been running, though he could estimate that it was somewhere near the south-western seashores of Mobius, almost on the other side of the continent of Tails' house. Sensing the aura, Sonic had deduced that the remaining chaos emerald, the seventh one, had also found its way onto Mobius after being scattered after the conflict against the Meterex. He needed to tell Knuckles straightaway lest it came into the hands of evil, though it was highly unlikely given that there wasn't any evil they knew of that was threateningly them. Still, it was an important priority as obtaining the seventh chaos emerald would finally erase that last doubt lingering in the back of Sonic's and Knuckle's minds.

With that in mind, Sonic darted across the lush, grassy fields towards Angel Island, picking up the speed he was running at. Long grass whipped past the blue hedgehog, tearing by as he ran at almost the speed of sound, proud that nothing could ever match his extreme velocity. He, Sonic, was the "King of Speed"! Sonic laughed out loud as he suddenly accelerated and sonic booms resounded behind him. Overhead, the blue sky and the downy, white clouds seemed to race by as the wind picked up. It was great being the fastest thing ever!

However, what he witnessed next disturbed him immensely. As he was making his way around the area where he had sensed the power; already miles away from Tails' house even though he had only been running for a few minutes, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye in the far distance; moving at an alarming rate. So alarming, that as Sonic kept watching, the movement raced by so quickly that the blue hedgehog wasn't even sure he saw anything at all!

"Woah!" Sonic shouted as he picked up his already Mach-1 pace, trying to match that of the moving object. But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried! The object had to be moving at least three times as fast! Finally, as Sonic saw the object slow to a stop a distance up ahead, he stealthily sped past the windy field and towards the mysterious entity in an attempt to determine what could travel that rapidly.

Upon approaching closer, Sonic shockingly found the entity to be a hedgehog like him, only with a light red fur and streaks of golden stripes where he possessed a light blue exterior all over. The mysterious hedgehog had its back towards Sonic, who was but a few hundred yards away, furtively concealed behind the long grass. Occasionally, the stranger would check a device on its arm, holding it to it ear as if it was one of Tails' com-link devices. It seemed to get no reply however, as it looked around in frustration after holding the gadget to the side of its head after a few moments. Sonic, having completely forgotten about finding the chaos emerald aura, was intrigued in this mysterious being. Had he finally found his match? Was this some challenger, having heard about Sonic, come to face him in a duel?

As Sonic inched forward however, he was about to find out that there was more to the stranger than he had expected. As the blue hedgehog tried to sneak forward to gain a better vantage point in an attempt to determine whether the other hedgehog was friendly or not, the entity suddenly vanished, seeming to have been simply swallowed into thin air.

"Huh?" Sonic asked as he blinked a couple of times. Where did he go?

Suddenly, Sonic was thrown off of his feet as he felt someone shove him roughly from behind. As Sonic tumbled off balance onto his back, quickly turning around to find out the source of whoever pushed him, he found himself staring into the cold eyes of the intruder; the red and golden hedgehog.

"Don't you know it's not nice to sneak up on people like that?" The red hedgehog asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at his blue counterpart. He looked down and noticed a disarray of flowers by his feet, trampling them underfoot as Sonic watched on in resentment and irritation.

The blue hedgehog, startled that he had been discovered so easily, raised himself back on his feet, brushing himself off and trying to retain his dignity as he gave a wary reply. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. But who are you?" Sonic asked, wondering who his mysterious hedgehog was, eerily reminded of Shadow by the hedgehog's calm, yet stoic and dark demeanor, and its quiet confidence. But while Shadow possessed apathy and rarely showed intentions of fighting, even when the situation called for it, this hedgehog had a range of hostility and aggression, wound up like a spring as if it were expecting a fight. And it didn't appear to be backing down from physicality either…

"Who am I?" The entity asked, repeating Sonic's question as he slowly digested what he was being asked. "I'm your worst nightmare," The red hedgehog stated with an air of terrorization and forebodingness. And although Sonic dismissed the reply as a poorly executed attempt into intimidating him, he suddenly wondered if there was more to the threat than he had first obtained from its initial impression…

"What business do you have wandering around here?" Sonic retaliated, refusing to let this stranger bully him around. At this point, there was no doubt in his mind that his opponent wasn't friendly anymore. But as he asked that question, he noticed the hedgehog's face twitch ever so slightly, as it seemed to try to remember what his purpose was.

"It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten what I was sent out to do…" The red hedgehog muttered furtively to itself as Sonic, awaiting a clear reply, crossed his arms in a gesture that meant he didn't want his opponent meddling around in Mobius. "Over a month, I've had to travel through the boundaries of space in a fanatical attempt to track down and expunge the one who I've been sent to deal with…"

"Who are you? And are you alone?" Sonic asked, still suspicious of the hedgehog's intentions. "Are there others like you?"

"Me? I… don't know… And countless of others with me…" The hedgehog answered quietly, trying to recall the past. "It seems as if my mind has been jarred from the universe and dimension traversing that I've had to go through. There are others with me on this planet, but we all share the same fate. But I remember," And suddenly, it all seemed as if the red hedgehog was stricken with something as it all came rushing back.

"I remember." Sonic's opponent suddenly snapped his head up, his golden eyes seeming to bore holes into Sonic's. "I… Flash… I remember. Now, my work must be carried out lest I await the judgment of failing."

"Your work?" Sonic asked, readying for what Flash had in store. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

His answer came in the form of a fist as Flash struck out suddenly and punched him upside the chin. Sonic stumbled backwards, his head exploding with stars from the painful blow as Flash rapidly took off, speeding towards a certain direction.

"Wait!" Sonic shouted out and raced to intercept Flash. "You aren't going to hurt my friends!"

The blue hedgehog took off with renewed worry and desperation, trying to catch up. As Sonic slowly caught up to Flash, who still seemed to be off-minded as he was rather unsure of where he was headed, his futile attempt caught the attention of his enemy. "Hah!" Flash shouted out once he noticed Sonic race towards him. "Don't even try to test me! Your speediness is inferior to mine!"

"I'd like to see you say that to my face!" Sonic angrily retaliated as the two hedgehogs sped over the grassy field, blazing past the grass at speeds in the mach range. However, as Sonic accelerated even faster, his legs starting to burn and ache from running this fast for a while, he unexpectedly noticed Flash simply disappear in mid-run.

"Wha—Oof!" Sonic was thrown to the ground again as Flash appeared by his side and ran at full speed into Sonic, tackling him to the ground. Sonic hit the ground at full speed while Flash jumped over the blue hedgehog, and sped off. Fully enraged, Sonic picked himself up again, and yelled out to the red hedgehog in an attempt to distract him. "Come back and fight, you worthless coward!" He shouted out into the distance, hoping that Flash would hear him.

Luckily and unluckily, Flash heard him long enough to pause from running and turn around. "What… did... you… say..?" The red hedgehog asked, his words dripping with venom.

"I said—!" Suddenly, Flash had turned around and was racing back to attack Sonic once again. Smiling to himself, Sonic waited a little while longer, and when Flash was close enough, bearing down at full speed, Sonic transformed into his spin-dash and sped out to counter Flash head on.

However, Sonic's plan didn't work as he was sent flying into the dirt again, despite the fact that his spin-dash ripped through almost anything. The full force of Flash's incredible speed had been just enough to turn Sonic's attack upon himself, using the momentum to send the blue hedgehog flying backwards into the ground once more. And as Sonic had to pick himself up once again, this time a bit shakier, he spat into the ground, furious that Flash was making him look like a fool.

"I suggest you pick your words carefully before you something like that again," Flash stated coldly, sauntering over to Sonic. "You don't know what power you're up against."

"I don't know what I'm up against?" Sonic repeated in disbelief. "YOU don't know what you're up against? Don't you know me? I'm the fastest hedgehog alive, and I'll show you!"

Sonic spin-dashed again straight at his rival, only to have Flash meet him head on with a similar spin dash. However, as Sonic quickly found out, Flash was bigger and greater in stature, weight, size, strength, and speed. Head on attacks would only work to the intruder's advantage, so Sonic had to use his agility to try to turn the battle to his benefit.

Spying a closely clumped forest of trees to the west, Sonic backed off while he recovered from the blows he was dealt with, and turned around, a plan quickly formulating in his head as he started to casually walk towards the forest, seemingly ignoring Flash.

"I don't think I gave you the permission to leave!" Flash shouted as Sonic ignored him again and started to walk towards the forest, picking up his pace a little bit. "Didn't you hear me? Listen to me! Come back and fight!"

But Sonic had blocked Flash out from his mind at the moment as he jogged away, leaving the red hedgehog to hurl idle insults in his direction. As Flash realized Sonic was intentionally paying no attention to him, he held out one of his hands, and a steel, vicious-looking, golden boomerang appeared out of thin air.

"I'm going to count to three! One…" Sonic started to run away as Flash counted, about halfway to the woods. "Two…" Sonic was nearing the edge as Flash held the boomerang out, readying to throw. "Three!"

Flash immediately flung the boomerang at Sonic at full strength, travelling the several hundred yards in a matter of split seconds. As Sonic heard the whooshing sound behind him and the air being ripped apart, he timed his jump, and ducked right when the boomerang whizzed harmlessly overhead.

"Hah! Missed!" Sonic taunted as he slowly stood up at the exact moment when the boomerang had finished the length of its journey and whizzed back, knocking Sonic upside the head with a loud crack. As Sonic, reeling from the blow, staggered into the woods out of Flash's sight as Flash sped towards the general direction at a high velocity. As the red hedgehog held out his other hand, another boomerang appeared, the same type as the first. Reaching the spot where he had hit Sonic, Flash retrieved his previous weapon and wielded it in his free hand. However, as he did so, Sonic came speeding out of nowhere and dealt a quick blow to Flash from behind, racing off into the protection of the foliage as Flash recovered from the blow, angrily but acutely scanning the forestry for any detection of movement.

"Marco…" Flash whispered under his breath as he stood stock still and waited for Sonic to make his next move, both boomerangs ready in hand as he answered his own, dark joke. "Polo…"

Suddenly, at that exact moment, as Flash had turned his head ever so slightly to the right, Sonic sped out from the direct left, trying to catch Flash off guard. It worked in a way as Sonic tackled Flash to the ground this time, but as Sonic tried to escape in an attempt to utilize a "hit and run" method of attack, Flash launched one his boomerangs out at the unsuspecting hero and caught him from behind, making contact from point blank on the back of the head. Sonic went down immediately as Flash jumped up and ran over to his defeated enemy, who was making a futile attempt to get back up.

"Look who's the 'fastest hedgehog alive' now!" Flash leered at his fallen foe, standing over the blue hedgehog. "What does he have to say now?"

However, Sonic could barely make a sound as he was nearing the brink of unconsciousness from the brutal, blunt force of that blow. The edges of his blurry vision was blackening, and it wasn't long before darkness awaited him.

"Listen," And suddenly, Flash's face was directly above Sonic's; his mouth twitched in a suppressed scowl. "Tell your friends, that is, if you ever get back, that I, Flash is here; second in command to Malcolm. Tell your friends, and every sorry inhabitant on this planet, that we are coming, and the end is near for your existence."

And with that, Sonic's vision gave way to a darkness like blackest of nights and he faded out of reality.


	2. Chapter 2

Downward Spiral: Ch. 2

Angel Island

Upon a far, distant island in the vast land of Mobius, a spell of peace seemed to have spread from the inner to the outer boundaries of this isle. Floating several hundred yards above sea level, this landmass was home to lush forestry and greenery; an open plain circling one of the island's perimeters. It was there that the six, brilliantly radiant chaos emeralds sparked; arranged in a neat circle around another, much larger master emerald that was placed upon a stone altar with steps leading down to the grassy field. On one of these steps sat an undisturbed, quiet figure; lazily perched with light from the warmly shining sun dawning upon his closed eyes.

"Now only if that pestering bat doesn't ruin it…" Knuckles thought to himself, opening one eye as he vigilantly scanned the clear blue skies. "Though lately, she's been pretty quiet…"

And he was right. Almost immediately after the victory against Eggman, the mischievous bat had mysteriously departed with the hope and intent of searching the landscape for lost treasure. Knuckles might have joined her, and why not? There was no more worry from the evil scientist; no one else to pose a threat to the Sonic team. But Knuckles knew that in the back of his mind, the last chaos emerald remained hidden. Normally possessing a cautious personality, he knew it was his duty to make sure that ALL of the emeralds where in its rightful place; even if it meant remaining in this spot for years. Which wasn't a bad thing after all; Knuckles generally liked to be left alone anyways.

As the red echidna sighed to himself, slowly settling back into a resting position, another dark thought tugged at the back of his mind; one that had been bothering him for a while now, though he didn't know if he really wanted to know the answer. How had Eggman managed to turn the chaos emeralds into a demented state, and then use it to power himself into a dark form? Raymond and Eggman himself had both revealed the secretive, behind-the-back experimenting of the chaos emeralds to possibly expose further, valuable properties of the unfathomable gemstones. And the intention was undoubtedly for the purpose of evil, in which case Eggman had succeeded; though he was somehow foiled by the ever so mysterious Raymond. Who was planning to visit in a little while, if Knuckles' memory didn't fail him…

"What's going on…?" Knuckles whispered into the quiet scenery; receiving no answer in reply. He felt as if he should feel safe; Eggman was gone, wasn't he? But Knuckles had the feeling that he was part of another, much larger design; one that he had no control over. He just couldn't see what purpose he played in it, or how it was going to end. All Knuckles could do was hope that things would turn out alright; maybe if he found that last chaos emerald, he'd finally feel at peace. Things might have seemed serene now, but Knuckles well knew the phrase "quiet before the storm"…

"You know, exactly a month ago…" Raymond started thoughtfully; his voice suddenly breaking the silence as Knuckles opened his eyes to see the red fox perched upon a higher step; calmly gazing out into the vast ocean. He had appeared out of nowhere as Knuckles was busy thinking to himself..

"…We brought Cosmo back at this very spot." Knuckles finished, already knowing the answer to Raymond's uncompleted sentence before he could complete it. "Thanks to that peculiar diamond of yours." He added, pointing at the trademark diamond hanging around the red fox's neck.

"AND," Raymond started with a smirk, his eyes finally meeting those of Knuckles'. "As I recall, someone didn't believe me."

"Even though I ended up helped you and Tails anyways," Knuckles countered in a friendly manner, turning his attention back to the sea as he tried to recall that fateful, stormy day. "Without me, you two might have still been here today; trying to get that diamond to work."

"Maybe," Raymond smirked again. "We'll never know, won't we?"

Knuckles slowly nodded, a thought suddenly forming on the tip of his tongue. "That reminds me by the way; how does that diamond of yours work anyways? Does it use chaos energy, or something not from this world?"

"Well, like I told you," Raymond started, though seemed as if he was still trying to figure out the mysterious diamond as well. "I was told that when combined with the powers of the Master Emerald, it could be used to bring people back from the dead. It also gives the wearer a sense of immortality as their souls are trapped within if they are killed with possession of this item." And here, the red fox paused; searching for words. "Unfortunately, I really don't understand how it works though; I just took it for granted and somehow, whether it was by magic or luck, I brought Cosmo back. And for the type of power it uses, I would suspect chaos energy. The Master Emerald possesses the force needed to fuel the operation, and the diamond channels it into the power required to defy death..."

"Does it only work once? You told us that it was used in the past countless times…" Knuckles asked; recalling Raymond's explanation of his background before arriving to Mobius.

"I don't know either…" Raymond stared down at the cracked diamond hanging around his neck. "Though, for some reason, I would suspect that the power the diamond possesses has run dry, though possibly only temporarily…"

"So, it has the potential to work again?" Knuckles gazed at the obsidian-black diamond with intrigue.

"I hope so…" Raymond answered softly, suddenly hit with an aching pang at the memories of his lost one.

Knuckles, noticing this, gave a comforting smile. "You know, I've heard that if you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you'll fall among the stars…" He said, reciting a quote he had learned from a long time ago. Something he had picked up as one of the proverbs of his wise ancestors.

Raymond dully nodded. "And I've heard that if you shoot for the moon and miss, the harder you fall…" As the red echidna respectfully remained silent, the red fox seemed to shake it off. "It's alright though; what's done is done." Raymond turned back to his companion with an optimistic smile. "We can never turn back the pages of time; though we may wish to relive a happy moment or say goodbye just one last time, we never can because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can't turn the hourglass over. True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Letting go is just one way of saying 'I love you'…"

"Yeah…" Knuckles agreed as he leaned back and for the third time, enjoyed the peaceful scenery; watching the azure sky in silence. He might be part of a larger, uncontrollable design, but for the moment, he was going to enjoy every little detail of it. Whatever fate had in store for him, he was going to be optimistic. "True hope dwells on the possible," Knuckles thought to himself as he closed his eyes in undisturbed thought. "Even when life seems to be a plot written by someone who wants to see how much adversity we can overcome.." He would have added more to that thought, but at that moment, the fate of Mobius and the destiny of the Sonic team would change forever.

Suddenly, the six chaos emeralds began to glow; pulsating dazzling combinations of colors and light. As Knuckles and Raymond snapped out of their own thoughts when they noticed something was amiss, a large aura of energy pulsed across the entire island; so powerful that it knocked the duo over and made the surrounding grass bow down to its will as the green strands were flattened.

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked in a loud, panicked voice as he regained his balance; eerily similar to the same question he had asked just a couple minutes earlier.

"I… look!" Raymond pointed at the glowing chaos emeralds that were shooting beams of energy and light everywhere in all directions, nearly missing the two. As Knuckles and Raymond took refugee under the side of the Master Emerald alter with white-hot lasers scorching the field near their feet, just like that, the spectacular aura died away and the chaos emeralds returned to their dull, normal state.

"What… the…" Knuckles breathed; completely in shock of the unholy and astonishing exploit the chaos emeralds had done.

"Something's wrong…" Raymond pointed out, turning around to see if the event had any other effect. "Just three weeks and already it looks like Eggman's prowling around somewhere…" He deduced, as no one would be able to accomplish such a feat of meddling with the chaos emeralds like that.

"Grr…" Knuckles growled, annoyed that the scientist had the mettle to mess with them even after being fairly defeated. And at that moment, the echidna suddenly remembered to ask his companion of the question that had been bothering him for so long. "What exactly did Eggman discover about the chaos emeralds?"

"I don't know," Raymond said as Knuckles arched an eyebrow in skepticism. "But Tails… I gave him access to all the information of Eggman's research. I was hoping he'd get around to sorting it out, but I guess we never really found the need to…"

"Well, we obviously need to now!" Knuckles insisted, staring back at the perplexing chaos emeralds to make sure they wouldn't undergo another dangerous change. "Let's hurry to Tails then if Eggman is really back… but… Sonic!" Knuckles grabbed his head in frustration. "He was supposed to stop by! I forgot!"

"What? Why?" Raymond asked in utter confusion, wondering if something he didn't know about was going on.

"Sonic said he'd located a strange aura of chaos energy somewhere in the southwest. We think it might be the last chaos emerald…" Knuckles explained as the two of them realized the dilemma they were in.

"Let's go after Sonic first then," Raymond decided after a few seconds of thought. "If anyone can help us fight another possible Eggman attack, he's the best candidate. It makes sense to collect all of the chaos emeralds anyways..."

"And then we can stop by at Tails' place." Knuckles agreed. "Sounds like a plan; let's go!" As the two of them hopped off of the altar towards the mainland, the red echidna could only wonder in awe at how quickly things had just changed…

Tails' house:

At the same moment, the yellow kitsune; having just returned from his workshop after completing the finishing touches and paintings to his plane, suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet. As Tails nearly fell over; reaching out with one hand to steady himself upon the doorframe leading to the interior of his house, he heard Cosmo scream in fear.

"Cosmo?" Tails called her name out in alarm; worrying for the safety of his love. He instantly picked himself up and ran inside the house to find the plant girl sprawled on the floor with pieces of broken glass surrounding her bare feet.

Cosmo, upon noticing the concerned, yellow fox, started to explain with worry spreading across her face. "Tails, I…"

"Shh.. it's alright," Tails said, thankful that she wasn't hurt. As he helped Cosmo up to her feet, Tails deduced that the minor earthquake had thrown her off balance while supposedly in the act of bringing a glass of water to him, explaining the broken glass. He'd clean it up later…

"What was that?" Cosmo asked in distress, stepping closer towards Tails as he protectively spread his twin tails around her body. She looked up at the kitsune with wonder and panic in her eyes as Tails sought a soothing answer.

"It's probably just an earthquake," Tails said as he made his way over to the phone in case any of his friends had felt the same tremor. "Nothing to worry about; it's gone now." He smiled at Cosmo while dialing Amy's number at the same time, wondering if she were home or out chasing Sonic.

However, the phone shrilly rang with another called on the line before Tails could click "call". Supposing that it was another of his friends who had decided to try the same thing, Tails answered the call, holding it up to his ear while searching for a broom in a nearby closet. "Hello?"

"Tails!" The yellow fox had to briefly hold the phone away from his ear as the loud voice of Knuckles rang throughout the small closet. "Are you there?"

"Hold on," Tails stooped down to pick up a stray broom. "Since when do you have a phone?"

"I'm using Raymond's Com-Link device," Knuckles hurriedly explained, as if in anxiety. "You know, the one you gave him during the war against Eggman?"

"Oh, right." Tails backed out of the closet towards the scattered pieces of broken glass; started to sweep it into a pile. "Sorry, I forgot. Go on.."

"Well," Knuckles paused and started to mutter something inaudible as if he were talking to someone else by his side. "Do you still have that device Raymond gave you after we defeated Eggman?"

"Are you talking about the USB?" Tails tried to remember if he still had that small, black microchip. Maybe it was on his desk in his workshop… "I think so; why?"

"Well use it to find out what Eggman discovered about the chaos emeralds! Because the six we have are acting up, and we think Eggman's back! But we're busy right now trying to find Sonic after he left to search for the seventh chaos emerald."

"Wait, Sonic?" Tails remembered Sonic's brief visit earlier that day; how he had seemed to leave in a hurry. "He found the seventh chaos emerald?"

"He thinks he has," This time, it was Raymond's voice. "Knuckles said he and Sonic found a source of strange chaos energy located somewhere in the Southwest."

"So, if Sonic was looking for it, why isn't he back?" Tails asked naively as he finished discarding the broken glass in the wastebasket.

"That's the problem; none of us have seen Sonic since he left. And some of us haven't even seen him at all today."

"Do you think something happened to him?" Tails wondered as he placed the broom back in the closet and started towards his workshop.

"Yeah, and I think it has something to do with Eggman as well." Raymond flatly answered.

"Okay well, I'll start to examine and analyze all the research Eggman managed to compile onto his microchip; hopefully containing information about the consequences and results of his tampering. If we're lucky, it'll reveal the answer to your predicament."

There was a slight pause as Tails sat down at his desk, fished out the USB, and plugged it into his computer memory port. "Umm… yeah… you do that… Thanks." The call ended abruptly; leaving Tails wondering what was going on. Things that had seemed so quiet and peaceful before were starting to look cloudy…

An hour later found the audacious duo of Raymond and Knuckles near the place Sonic had suggested they look for the missing gemstone, though the echidna swore he didn't sense anything different about the area except for a gut feeling of danger and an inclination towards high caution. A grassy field surrounded the two on all sides, though instead of the grass barely brushing the ankles as it normally would, this field was full of wild shrubbery and grass that extended well over chest height, making it difficult to view the entire landscape more than several yards away in any given direction. With the two of them tearing through the field for a while now, looking for their missing friend, the mutual feeling shared was that of worry and concern.

"That damn hedegehog.. Where the hell is he?" Knuckles growled as he realized the longer they spent here meant the higher risk of leaving his beloved master and chaos emeralds unprotected.

"Sonic?" Raymond cupped his hands to his mouth and called out; not even receiving his echo as a reply. Brushing the tall grass away in front of him, the red fox continued to trod through the field as Knuckles followed behind, but immediately spotted something.

"Over there!" Knuckles stooped down to pick up a tangled bouquet of roses. In doing so, he could faintly make out a few outlines of a figure's foot in the warm soil. "I think I've found something!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Raymond was at his side, already staring at the footsteps while Knuckles stood back up with the flowers in one hand. "Sonic might not be one to pick flowers," The echidna started. "But someone's definitely been here before. Maybe if we follow their footsteps…" Knuckles gestured out towards the open plain. "It can lead us to the last emerald.. And hopefully Sonic…"

"Okay," Raymond nodded consent as he tried to figure out what direction the footsteps were pointing. "Let's try over there." He pointed at a low outcropping of forestry in the distance; barely several hundred yards away. The dark, foreboding woods seemed to intimidate the duo; menacing with the darkness within.

Cautiously, looking for any other signs of a previous presence in the area, Knuckles and Raymond both headed over to the foliage, grim expressions clouding their faces. Maybe something had happened to Sonic? Maybe there was another person who had set the blue hedgehog up for a trap… But whatever the case, the two of them were going to find out.

"Careful now," Raymond stooped under the outreaching branches of the oak trees, clearing the rest away with his hands as he tried to peer into the utter darkness. Not even the comforting sound of crickets or any insects reaching his ears. It was late fall; almost wintertime. The trees had already lost their leaves, which had been swept up in the gales of wind and scattered all over the forest floor, making a colorful blanket of maroon, wine-red, and golden yellow. However, the density of the trees were so thick that even with only bare branches, one couldn't even see but a few yards in any given direction.

"We'll never find anyone at this rate…" Knuckles muttered darkly to himself, wishing things weren't so cryptic and mysterious. Sonic could just be taking a nap this whole time; he'd never understand that carefree hedgehog.

"Shh!" Raymond shushed the pestering echidna, cupping one hand to his ear as he motioned for silence. "Did you hear something?"

Knuckles remained silent for only a couple seconds before shrugging. "No, why?"

"I could have sworn I heard someone else…" Raymond started to move around with more purpose and determination as the echidna struggled to keep up through the forest.

"Do you think—" And suddenly, as Raymond cleared away another branch, the two of them found themselves staring right at the beaten body of their missing companion; lying on the forest floor with his eyes shut.

"Sonic!" Raymond rushed over while Knuckles stood a ways off; making sure that whoever could have done such a thing was nowhere around. "Oh great…" The red fox tilted the blue hedgehog's head up as Sonic started to hazily open his eyes; taking in the surroundings.

"Wha… Oh, it's you guys… What's up..?" Sonic tried to manage a grin, but instead winced in pain as he clutched his left shoulder.

"Do ya think next time, you'd let us know what you're planning to do?" Knuckles dryly asked after he was satisfied no one was around the proximity of the trio.

Sonic's face was that of a child who'd been caught stealing candy on Halloween. "Uh, maybe?" He grimaced a little, then slowly propped himself up on his elbows.

"What happened?" Raymond asked as he briefly surveyed the amount of damage Sonic's body had taken. Nothing too serious, now that he took a closer look, but there was a good-sized bruise on Sonic's head.

"Well… you see…" Sonic started until the impatient echidna cut the two off; unwilling to stick around while the imminent threat of potential danger was still lingering in the area.

"Whatever, you can tell us later. Let's just get you to medical help," Knuckles muttered as he and Raymond helped Sonic up to his feet, each of them taking one of Sonic's arm around their shoulders as they helped him walk.

"Yeah, alright, let's…" And as Raymond suddenly turned around to venture back from where he and Knuckles had entered from, he found himself staring face to face into the cold, steely eyes of his arch-nemisis, Metal Raymond.


End file.
